Presumed Dead
by MissAshB
Summary: A visit to an old friend's grave doesn't work out exactly as planned for Gabriel Reyes. Now he is left with an opportunity to reclaim what little he had, at a cost. Warning: violence
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Souls: easy to find if you have a ready supply of weak humans and a history of blood-stained tendencies. However, when you're alone in the night, it's a tinge harder. Gabriel Reyes felt his brain was splashing in his skull and hunger pains hitting his entire body as he passed into the Arlington Cemetery. He felt a longing to stalk his way to the seven juicy, orange lives guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns. Just a little snack, something to hold off the sadistic rage curdling in his very being.

But the cemetery was big, the ripe souls were too far out of his way, and Reyes could feel himself running short on time. He shook his head and turned his attention to where the grave of Jack Morrison would be. He had hired a mercenary to gather as much information as possible on the remaining Overwatch agents. The drop off was under a bench near the tombstone.

 _What is this?_ A slightly dulled soul was moving through the graveyard. Its path didn't sway, whoever was here clearly had a defined purpose.

It didn't matter to Reyes why it was here, he was so hungry and this unsuspecting intruder was not too far off. He started to move faster while contemplating how to off this one. Maybe he could snap its neck... eh, kind of overdone. It might be extremely satisfying to crack its head over a pearly tombstone, preferably Morrison's. He had always been an entitled asshole. Then again, a slug to the head is usually very effective.

Reyes decided to wing it as the soul's owner came into view. Whoever it was stood in front of Morrison's grave. Reyes felt a familiar wave of jealously spike his heart. He had died too, why did Morrison always get everything? Reyes didn't even get a grave, let alone a plot at Arlington. The figure's shoulders moved with each breath, the man appeared winded, crying, or both.

"Damn it," Soldier 76 spoke. 76 squatted down and set his pulse rifle on the ground. He stretched his hand to get blood flowing to his white fingers again. _Interesting._ The original plan seemed too easy and quick now.

"What a nice night." Reyes shifted to his wraith form and swirled over to 76.

"Small talk? Am I really lookin' that old?" The soldier was back on his feet and following the reaper's movements.

"Yes," Reyes said.

"What do you want?"

"Why is a wanted man visiting Jack Morrison? Oh, is he your hero?" Reyes had a gift for sarcasm. He chuckled darkly at his own quip.

"Morrison isn't here."

"Ah, a conspiracy theorist and a patriot."

Neither of the men held their guns. Both assessed the situation. Soldier 76 couldn't reach for his rifle anymore without Reaper drawing first. 76 was slipping the older he got and hadn't grabbed it. Reyes wanted to kill Soldier 76, if not for 76's soul, then for his gag-worthy, American demeanor. Something was off about the soldier though, and Reyes was interested.

"Why are you here then? Couldn't just be for little 'ol me," Soldier 76 said.

"Not you, the guest of honor." Reyes nodded to the silent grave. "You know, I think you have the same big ego as the good commander."

Soldier 76 tensed up at the comparison. He noticed Reaper's guard was falling. _Looks like more than one person here has a big ego._ If 76 kept playing along... It was clear Reaper liked to talk about himself.

"So what do you have against overwatch?"

"People like you. You know the arrogant ones that get everything for doing nothing?"

"Sounds like you have a personal experience experience with this."

"Too personal." Reaper absentmindedly started to dematerialize. It wasn't what Soldier 76 was exactly planning, but it was good enough. He hastily grabbed his pulse rifle and trained it on Reaper.

"Really? You think that is going to work?"

76 clicked safety off. "I had a friend who said that to me once."

Reaper was done playing with his food, he swooped behind the soldier as he fired. Reyes wrapped his arms around the soldier's neck. "You know, let me tell you something, it's because of people like you that Jack got too full of himself. You just have a thing for strong appearances over skill? Don't you?"

The soldier struggled for air and attempted to push Reyes off of him. _No, no._

"He was my best friend and your type is at just as much fault as me!"

 _Gabe?_ Soldier 76 didn't have the energy to struggle anymore. This was it. Reyes felt 76 go limp and heard a pop. The vigilante's soul was ripe to consume.

"So what does the douchebag look like?" Reyes smiled as he tore the mask off its connectors, bending the metal. Reyes stared blankly for a second before realization tore a hole in his mind. "No? No. Jack?"

A rock hit the bottom of Reyes stomach, and his throat tightened. Jack Morrison survived? No. Reyes was there when the bomb went off. Right before he lost consciousness in a puddle of his own blood, Reyes had seen a heavy pile of debris collapse on Jack. The moron had been trying to help others out before fire engulfed the wreckage.

"No no no. You can't be alive. I- I'm going to find help. I didn't know, I didn't know. I-"

Reyes's rage dissipated quickly and he fought off the urge to simply take Jack's soul. It looked so enticing… No. He shook his head trying to clear the compulsion to eat and ran over to the bench where the Overwatch information was set for drop off. He ran back to where his old friend was lying while sifting through the data.

If anyone could help, it would be Angela Ziegler. Sure, she was the last person he wanted to see ever again, but who else could he trust to bring Jack Morrison back from the dead? That's if she would even listen to Reyes, after all, they hadn't parted on the best terms.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The funny thing about death is nobody cares as long as they didn't know the corpse. Reyes had killed so many people and felt nothing but slight satisfaction. Five years ago he had felt no guilt when trying to gun down Morrison, when had the circumstances changed?

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ Gabriel should not be letting loneliness get the best of him. It was ridiculous to carry his enemy to safety when Talon could notice they'd lost track of Reyes any moment. Sure, he had never known a true friend like Morrison and sure, he had been pushing down the intense need to go back and change things. Why had he even betrayed Overwatch? It's not like he got anything out of it in the end, if anything, he lost everything. His decisions had left him as a dead, friendless mercenary with a pointless vendetta against a disbanded group of people.

No matter what he felt now, Reyes didn't regret helping to destroy Overwatch. Most of them deserved it. Hell, even Morrison deserved it in the end. They were becoming a corrupt military force outside of government control. Jack hadn't seen anything wrong with it, neither had Reyes if he was being completely honest. Gabriel wasn't helping Jack for who he had become in the end, but for the good memories Reyes had gone over so many times. Maybe death had given his old friend time to reflect.

Gabriel felt hunger in every muscle. Morrison's soul was still hanging in there, it looked like aspirin to a migraine. _Don't._ Reyes had to get away. He was too close to focus. Reyes leaned Jack's body onto a bench. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than the pavement. Gabriel started to walk away, pushing down the paranoia of leaving Morrison.

Gabriel picked up his phone and keyed in the contact number listed for Angela and thought of what he would say. He lifted his mask slightly to make himself a bit more understandable and tried to swallow the tightness in his throat. The answering machine picked up instructing him to leave a message.

"Hello Angela. Call me back."

Reyes ended the call and realized he'd gravitated toward The Tomb of the Unknowns. Well, he was already off schedule… might as well kill a few people.

...

Gabriel's phone had only gone off for a second before he picked it up. The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds.

"How did you find me? I already told you I can't help."

"You should work on how you greet an old friend."

"What do you want?"

Gabriel sat up a bit straighter and adjusted his position next to Jack. It had been around an hour since he had called Angela, and had been on edge the entire time. It didn't seem wise to move Jack more and risk further damage.

"The way I see it, you owe me for what you did."

"I don't think I owe you anything."

"You do. Have you visited Jack's grave, Angela?"

"I... Yes?"

"So what you need to do is pull a few strings and catch a hypersonic flight. Get to the grave as fast as you possibly can."

Angela sighed on the other end. "Why would I do that?"

"I can't say the exact situation. Point is, someone is hurt and it involves an old friend." Well, that's an understatement, but what can be said over the phone?

"I don't trust you, Gabriel."

"I know." Gabriel forced his voice to be unnaturally calm and continued, "Just think on this, if you don't come I will kill you, your patients, and anyone else unfortunate enough to get in my way."

Angela was silent. There was no doubt she'd seen what Reyes was capable of. The guilt probably cumulated in her mind like rust on iron whenever he made the news.

"2 hours."

The line went dead. Gabriel sighed a little too loudly and gave himself a mental pat on the back. Death threats always seemed to work for him. Gabriel turned his attention back to Jack and almost wished Jack would just die. He wouldn't have to see Angela again, and she could deal with the corpse. Something inside of Reyes wouldn't let him leave.

...

Gabriel was seriously considering going through with his threat when he felt a soul getting closer. Reyes tapped his fingers against the bench while nervously waiting. _It better be angel girl._ He heard Angela's high heels clicking against ground before he saw her. Gabriel stood up to greet her. Angela had come prepared for a fight, her Valkyrie suit was on and her gun was at the ready.

"Angela," Reyes said. It sounded more like a warning than a greeting. He wanted to kill her so badly.

"What do you need me to do?" Angela stared defiantly at Gabriel, looking very intimidating for a woman of her size. She eyed the blood stuck to his clothes with weariness.

"Fix him." Gabriel gestured to Morrison. Angela barely glanced.

"Why would you want me to help a vigilante? It doesn't seem like you."

"Go," Gabriel instructed.

Angela strode over to Jack, Gabriel walking too close behind her. She knelt down next to her new patient to get a better look.

"What happened to-" Angela cut off as she saw Jack's face. "I thought..." Angela started shaking. Gabriel's patience was running out.

"How long have you known?"

"A few hours."

"I can't. I can't fix this. He's dead."

"You will fix it. You brought me back."

Angela flashed Gabriel a mixture of anger, confusion, and accusation. "The nanobots I used on you hardly worked as expected. Besides, they're all gone."

"You need them now." Gabriel could feel his stomach dropping and rage rising at the same time.

"Not here. I don't want to move him... But I think we have to go somewhere else."

"I have a place."

Gabriel picked Jack up, shoved his pulse rifle into Angela's hands, and lead the way out of the cemetery. It almost seemed like how it used to be, Jack getting drunk off his ass, Gabriel carrying him home, and completely sober Angela trying to help.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was hard, to say the least, for the grim reaper and an angel to discreetly move the human American flag to Gabriel's safe house. Reyes had forgotten how convenient turning into a shadow was.

Gabriel had a small apartment in DC. Structural problems due to the Omnic Crisis meant rent was cheap. Even better, the landlord couldn't afford to be suspicious that one of his tenants hid his face and only paid in cash. It was hard to find customers with nasty rumors of a shadowy monster surrounding the building.

"The keys are in my right pocket. Hurry up." Angela grabbed the keys and turned around to glare at Reyes before unlocking the door. Gabriel ducked in and clambered upstairs.

"This one," Gabriel said. Angela opened the door and stood aside awkwardly as Gabriel laid Jack on a couch. He muttered something under his breath as he put a pillow under Jack's head.

"So what are you going to do, doc?" Gabriel asked, without turning around.

"I'm... not sure yet. Can we just discuss this reasonably, Gabriel?"

"I'm not feeling reasonable today."

"Then can we sit down? I know this is difficult but-"

"Is this how you tell someone they're a widow?"

"Widow?"

"Forget it."

"I just think we should talk." Angela sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Fine."

Gabriel sat on the edge of the couch while Angela pulled up a chair. She looked thoughtful for a minute, trying to think over what to say. Gabriel crossed his arms cocked his head to side. _This should be good.  
_  
"Jack is gone, Gabriel-"

"You know how to bring down a room."

"-Listen. I have an idea, but it cannot be taken lightly," Angela looked up to Gabriel's mask, "I think I can bring him back."

"Stop stalling."

"There's no real way to put this delicately. The only way resuscitate Jack, would to make him like you." Gabriel was hoping she wouldn't say that, but somehow he knew. Would it be worth it? "I remember your medical records, you and Jack have compatible blood types. We might be able to transfer some of the bonded nanobots."

"Are you kidding me?" Angela winced slightly as Gabriel stood up. "Do you not know how bad this really is?"

"I just can't see any other way to help him. Maybe it's better to just let him go."

"I can't."

They were both silent. Gabriel fought the urge to punch something. How could he have been so stupid? "I'd like to be alone for a little while," Gabriel said, more a statement than a request. "You can sleep in there." Gabriel tilted his head toward the bedroom. Angela left without a word. She knew better than to argue. Gabriel waited until she shut the door to move again.

"Damn it, Jack." He slumped against the couch, defeated. "Why do you always have to be a pain in the ass? I was happy when you died, nothing was holding me back anymore. You had a knack for holding people back.

Like that one time New York? We were doing that interview with that ungrateful reporter. I was ready to attack him when he said the Crisis could have been won without us. You put your hand on my shoulder and gave that _look_ , like you knew exactly what I was thinking...

I guess I'm saying that you got me. That's what I remember most about you. Not the Overwatch bullshit."

...

It was sometime later when Angela reemerged from the room to grab her medical supplies. It would be best to prepare in case Gabriel did decide to donate nanobots. _He's just confused,_ Angela found herself thinking, _he never knew how to handle his feelings_. _Maybe I can point him in a better direction…_ As she turned to leave she noticed Gabriel was loosely gripping Jack's hand. _He'll be okay._


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all for the favorites, follows, and positive reviews. It makes my day to see them. Hope this unexpectedly long chapter does put a damper on things.**

 **I also want to say I am changing the rating to M. Please be aware of extreme violence (including violence against children). Please, please stop reading if you get uncomfortable. Please tell me if this is too overboard as well.**

Chapter 4

As much as Gabriel wanted to believe he'd destroyed Overwatch for its corruption, he could never truly convince himself. It was a purely selfish maneuver, everything else was an excuse. So long ago he'd entertained the idea of being Strike Commander Reyes, but it had never come to fruition. He'd tried to be happy for Jack-after all they were friends-but how could he? Jack had never worked as hard as Gabriel.

So now, he was terrified of making another selfish decision. He craved a second chance, but nothing could fix everything he'd done and, on top of that, it would cost Jack his soul. Wouldn't it be worse to put his curse on someone else? Likewise, Jack didn't deserve to die then or now.

Gabriel felt sick, he didn't want His friend to be dead. Jack always clicked with Gabriel. They were from such different backgrounds but could carry conversation so effortlessly. Admittedly, they both thought lowly of each other when they first met, but the first time Jack told Gabriel a funny joke they became solid. Jack would never confess that he thought he was talking to someone else and was terrified when he turned to see Reyes. Gabriel would never confess to looking up jokes that night to tell Jack the next day.

Gabriel couldn't remember that joke no matter how hard he tried. It didn't matter much now anyway, who was he going to tell, a Talon operative? Widowmaker? He doubted anyone would take him seriously after cracking a joke in the middle of a fight like old times.

Gabriel was interrupted by a buzzing coming from his phone.

"Yes?" He asked, maybe too angrily.

"Hello, Reaper. We were wondering where you've been." A garbled voice responded. The Talon leader or leaders wouldn't risk Gabriel knowing their true identities.

"Is that really your business?" Gabriel looked wearily toward Angela's room, expecting her to be listening.

"Of course it is. Where are you?"

Gabriel lowered his voice slightly, "What do you need me to do?"

"Reaper. Just answer the question."

Gabriel sighed audibly, contemplating what to say. He had paid someone to scramble his position, but no doubt Talon was breaking that code as they spoke. Gabriel was wondering when they would find out he'd ditched the 'incognito' agent watching over him three states ago. He had planned to reappear on Talon's radar somewhere in the Midwest, not get stuck in D.C.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to tell us? We don't want to hunt you down, and you know how easy that is with your very, ehem, distinct body trail."

"I hope you like the hard way," _What am I doing?_ "because I don't think I work for you anymore." Gabriel closed his eyes trying not to think too hard about what he just did.

"Really. And you decided this?"

"Yes." The static coming from the phone felt deafening for a long time.

"We'll be in touch." The Talon representative hung up.

Gabriel stood up and collected himself for a second. He felt empty. _Now what_. After a long time he stood up and gravitated to Angela's room.

"I'm coming in." As Gabriel entered, Angela snapped off her rubber gloves and glanced at Gabriel. He spoke, "Why did you decide to do this to me?"

"I didn't know-"

"No, you knew. You always were testing out your technology. Tell me the real reason."

Dr. Ziegler paused. She looked like she was thinking a little too hard. "I can't really remember. Maybe I just didn't want anyone to be hurt, maybe I forgot you were a terrible person for a few moments. There were so many dead... I don't think I was in my right mind."

"So you regret it?"

"I'm not sure anymore."

Gabriel sat down on the bed and put his face in his hands. "Angie... Angela, I'm sorry for letting you down." Angela snapped her head around. She couldn't hide her shock. "I have to go kill something now."

"Wait. What are you going to do about Jack?"

"Bury him." Reyes started to leave, hoping to avoid further conversation.

"Gabriel. Hold on a second."

"What now."

"There's enough bad people in the world-I think I've seen them all-do you really want to be one of them?"

"Dr. Ziegler, I don't think I have a choice." Gabriel drifted out of the room. Angela could be so naive yet maternal in her understanding of how things worked. The reaper had to kill, he had to consume... Didn't he?

As Gabriel set off from his apartment he felt annoyed. How dare she get under his skin? The doctor clearly didn't know what she was talking about. As he twisted the necks of a few civilians walking down an alley he felt his brow furrowing in anger. What he did was needed. These people had to die so Gabriel could keep going. When he hesitated to eat their souls, he broke down.

This is what Gabriel Reyes had been reduced to. Every child had wanted to be just like him, fighting off the evil of the world and standing for those in need. Now he was trying to stop hyperventilating behind a dumpster surrounded by his latest victims. _Isn't life just shitty like that?  
_  
"This. Is. All. Your fault," Gabriel breathed to himself, "you monster."

Gabriel took a few unsteady, deep breaths as he heard laughter. "The news says someone messed up Mr. Overwatch's memorial last night. Hah. Someone had to do it."

"Long time comin' I'd say," another voice chipped in.

"Stupid scrubs didn't know when to quit, eh?" A small group of people passed by the alleyway. Gabriel closed his eyes trying to contain himself, but this time, Jack wasn't around to help.

"Hey." Gabriel didn't even think about moving before he was behind them. "You should show some respect." He shifted to the shadows before the group turned around. The reaper noticed the street was abandoned, how perfect.

"Overwatch doesn't deserve no respect-" the seeming leader of the group faltered to seeing no one there. He pulled out a switchblade. "You better show yourself."

Reaper laughed coldly. "I used to torture punks like you for hours. Good times."

"I'm not playin' games, we'll fuck you up!"

Reaper materialized next to the terrified gang. "I'd like to see you try." Several members ran in fear while a few attempted to fight off the the shadow. He grabbed the first person he saw and broke their arm cleanly. Reaper started to dig his claws into his prey's skull. _No wait. What am I doing? He's just a kid. Oh god.  
_  
Gabriel slackened his grip and stumbled back a few feet before the releasing his would-be-victim, a frightened child. He swallowed the lump in his throat and felt hot tears beading in his mask. Have I done this before?

The other kids stood back in dread as Gabriel picked the child up and started to walk. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The child screamed as loudly as possible. "No please. I need to help you..." People were being drawn to the noise. "Please..." The boy passed out as Gabriel started to run faster.

...

"Angela! Are you still here?" Gabriel practically kicked his apartment door open.

"Yes... Is everything..." Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth. "Over here now!" Angela ran back into her room and tore the covers off the bed. Gabriel laid the child down as Angela grabbed her staff and other supplies. "Get out," she commanded.

"Angela," Gabriel could feel the boy's blood dripping from his arms and tears draining from his face, "I need Jack. I need Jack."


End file.
